


say the rest with no sound

by thebitterbeast



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fic, i could see this happening if this ship ever became canon?, this sort of spun out of control and idk if it is what was wanted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 02:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13695387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebitterbeast/pseuds/thebitterbeast
Summary: It took a near death experience for Caleb to find his bravery.Prompt: the way you said 'i love you'; loud, so everyone can hear.





	say the rest with no sound

**Author's Note:**

> [fjord-thinker](https://fjord-thinker.tumblr.com/) asked: 'The way you said “I love you." prompt meme' - Widofjord - #15. Bonus points for it happening in a moment of frustration/high tension. 
> 
> I'm not entirely sure I got it? but I hope you like it all the same.

“What were you thinking?”

Caleb was stunned when Fjord whirled around to face him, frown heavy on his face. His voice was low and, dare he say it, angry, closer to a growl than Fjord tended to use with their band. Caleb could not figure out why the half-orc was upset.

“The spell -”

“Coulda killed you,” the half-orc interrupted. He was still frowning. His jaw was tight, and his shoulders taut, and Caleb could not for the life of him understand why.

“It would have stopped the fiend,” the wizard insisted, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “Is that not what we want?”

The rest of their group were approaching, but the warlock paid them no mind, eyes piercing as he looked at Caleb. The redhead felt vulnerable and exposed. It was as if Fjord was looking right through him.

“Not at the expense of your life.” He was quieter now, but no less fierce. Fjord took a step closer.

Something in Fjord’s tone made Caleb drop his gaze, shoulders hunching slightly. The warlock did not understand, did not know how very wrong he was to think that Caleb’s life mattered more than their friends. If there was a way to save them from pain, no matter the cost to himself, Caleb would take it. He was not brave, not really, but they made him want to try to be.

“You matter to us,” Fjord continued. “You matter to _me_.” And there was the odd note in his voice that had Caleb’s heart in his throat, a lump forming that he could not speak around. He wanted to shake his head, deny his importance to the group. Deny the feelings that he knew he and Fjord had been dancing around.

But he could not bring himself to lie to the warlock.

He could not bring himself to raise his head to meet Fjord’s eyes, knowing that he was waiting for something. Acknowledgement, maybe. Maybe there was hope, an emotion Caleb had grown unfamiliar with over the years. Or maybe it was a slow realisation that he was wasting his time on Caleb.

All the options were painful to Caleb. He kept his eyes down, feeling more than hearing Fjord exhale in exhaustion and slump slightly. There was a hiss of pain that had him flinch backwards, his hands scrabbling at his jacket for a healing potion he no longer had.

“Fjord!” That was Jester, worry colouring her normally cheerful voice. “You’re hurt.”

“’m fine, Jester. It’s just a graze.” Caleb could feel the weight of Fjord’s eyes on his form again. “Our wizard took the brunt of it.”

Jester was not the first one to his side, worrying over him. No, that was Nott, and Caleb felt a spark of guilt for worrying his little friend. He looked down at her panicked eyes and found a smile for her, murmuring a reassurance that he did not feel he deserved to give her. Jester took his distraction as a sign to poke at his side, eliciting a hiss from him. He turned to look over at her, catching sight of the emotions on Fjord’s face as he did so.

There was another flicker of guilt, and hurt, and that lump of emotion that he did not want to examine lest it lead to him doing something stupid.

Jester poked him again, and he took in the frown on her face as she bent to inspect the wound on his side. “It looks worse than it is,” he tried to placate her, holding back another wince as she prodded a particularly bad burn.

“What were you thinking?” She scolded, and the words were a direct echo of Fjord’s that Caleb flinched slightly. He hoped no one noticed, but the tightening of Nott’s hand in his told him that was a futile.

“I was thinking the fiend was going to kill Fjord.” The brutal honesty in his words startled even him, but now his admission was out in the open. Caleb rubbed absently at his arm. “I -” He made the mistake of looking up, and he trailed off.

Fjord looked stunned. Like it had not hit him that Caleb starting the spell to take out the fiend - the very dangerous spell they had all unanimously decided was Last Resort Only - only when it had turned and started focusing its’ attacks on Fjord. Like it had not hit him that Caleb’s voice had been the one that had yelled his name in panic when his back had been exposed to the fiend, urging him to barely dodge the fiend’s blast.

There was a beat of silence that was rare when it came to their group before Beau very quietly went, “ _Oh._ Oh, shit.” and tried to shuffle away from Caleb. Nott protested when Molly tried to pry her away from her friend, and Jester made a comment on wanting to see this play out, but ultimately, they moved away to give the wizard and warlock some semblance of privacy. They were eavesdropping shamelessly, of course, but Caleb and Fjord were too caught up staring at one another - one frozen in terror at having his emotions so plain to see, and the other looking back at the moment leading to this one in a new light - to notice anything beyond each other.

Everything was balanced so precariously, and the wrong word could send them tumbling into an abyss that they might never claw their way out of.

“You put yourself in danger,” Fjord started slowly, and Caleb tensed up, expecting another rebuke. “For _me_?” The disbelief in his voice was tinged with something like wonder.

The tension in Caleb’s shoulders slowly eased. “ _Ja._ ” He dropped his arms to his sides and flexed his fingers, wishing he had something to fiddle with. “It was going to kill you.”

Fjord took a cautious step forward, as if he was afraid Caleb was going to flee. It was a fair assumption to make, considering how Caleb was feeling, but the wizard found the drudges of bravery he denied having and held firm. He met Fjord’s eyes, swallowing dryly around the lump in his throat.

“You coulda got killed,” Fjord murmured, and this time the emotion in his voice was easily identifiable. Fear, and worry, and upset, and Caleb hated that he was the cause of it.

Still, he met Fjord’s gaze, and his voice was steady when he responded. “You matter to me.” Using Fjord’s words against him made a smile flicker on the half-orc’s lips for a second before it dropped.

“I don’t like it when you get hurt,” the warlock said, and one warm hand was carefully put on Caleb’s side. “‘specially if it’s because of me.”

Caleb found his hand moving on its own accord to cover Fjord’s gently. “Well, I don’t like it when the people I love die, so.”

Fjord’s head snapped up to look at Caleb, and the wizard flushed as he realised what he had said. “You love me?” His voice raised slightly in disbelief, and there was a squeak in response from Jester, and a slap that, if either of them had bothered to look, was Beau covering Jester’s mouth with her hand.

“I thought it was obvious?” The wizard was blushing, and stuttering, and there was a snort that was clearly from Molly that told them what he thought. This time, the two turned as one to glance at their friends. Nott had her hands over her ears and her eyes squeezed shut. Beau made a one-handed gesture at them that told them to get on with it while the other was firmly covering Jester’s mouth. Molly had a disinterested look on his face, but his lips were curled up slightly.

Caleb let out a huff of amusement and found the last scraps of courage from the fact that they clearly did not think this was a bad idea. He turned back to Fjord, whose eyes were shining now with anticipation. “ _Ja_ ,” he said clearly, his voice carrying over to his friends. It was an announcement, and a declaration, and an attempt to strip the lingering fear from himself that this was a big mistake. “I love you.”

The smile Fjord gave him was beautiful. “Darlin’, I -”

They were interrupted by Beau’s “Ow, did you just _bite_ me?!” and Jester darting forward to grab the two of them into a hug. She danced backwards, clasping her hands under her chin, eyes shining as she waited.

She gestured impatiently at them when they did not make a move. “Well? What are you waiting for? Now kiss!”

A low chuckle escaped the warlock, and there was nothing but fondness in his gaze when he looked back at the slightly pink wizard. “You heard the lady.”

Caleb’s lips turned up into a small smile. “And we cannot disappoint?” His words lilted into a question, as if he worried that Fjord had changed his mind in the last few seconds.

Fjord’s free hand came up to cup Caleb’s cheek gently, thumb resting on the wizard’s bottom lip. He leaned forward and softly pressed their lips together, and Caleb smiled into the kiss as Jester hollered her approval.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my newest obsession, guys! You know [where to find me](http://ankahikoibaat.tumblr.com/) if you want to yell.


End file.
